Wayne's 90 Gallon Build

[wmcinnes]

Welcome

EDIT: Never really introduced myself. My name is Wayne and I am only 20yrs old! I have always had a freshwater aquarium since I was very little (dad always had one) but didnt even realize that something so gorgeous and interesting as a reef aquarium even existed.. It wasnt until I needed some new lights for my 125G FW Malawi Cichlid tank w/ DIY styrofoam/ cement background that I wandered into Aquarium Illusions. After seeing their display tank and asking some questions I wondered wth I was doing in freshwater! So shortly after getting the 125 set up and stocked (and lots and lots of lurking on Canreef and other forums).. I decided to take the plunge into reefing!

Here is my concept sketch of what I want..


Bought the new 90G (48x18x24) RR tank and wanted to paint the back of it black. I went to Home Depot and picked up a can of Krylon Fusion flat black, sprayed it on and am quite happy with how it looks. (Sprayed it indoors... probably a bad idea but no one was home to help me lift it out of the basement and to the garage and I got impatient..)









Equipment list as of February 11, 2012:
In possesion
-90G RR aquarium
-DIY Stand
-DIY 30G Sump/Refugium
-Bubble Magus NAC7 skimmer
-Eheim Compact 5000 return pump
-Aquasafe 100GPD 7-Stage RO/DI
-2x Eheim Jager Heaters (250W,300W)
-Koralia Evolution 1050
-JBJ ATO system (in the mail)
-25G Quarantine Tank w/ Fluval Sponge (cycling)
-80lbs Marco Rocks from Eli @ CaCo3 Reef Rocks
Future purchases
-Neptune Apex Lite w/ VDM Module
-2x Black AquaIlluminations Vega/Sol (depending on if Vega is out and its specs when ready to purchase light fixtures)
-Ecotech Marine Vortech MP40es (1 for now, 2 down the road)
-2x Phosban Reactors (Carbon/GFO)
-Toms Aqualifter Pump (For ATO)

[wmcinnes]

Also, my Aquasafe 100 GPD 7-stage Aquarium II RO/DI System came in the mail. I decided to plumb it into the pump house. Sadly, during the setup I realized that the combination of having well water with extremely high TDS (900+ PPM) and having low line pressure (about 35 PSI) was not going to allow the system to work for me. I was getting a super slow drips from the outlet (not nearly 100 GPD) and the TDS still remained at ridiculously high levels (200+PPM). For this reason, I have ordered a 100 PSI Booster Pump from the same company and it should arrive shortly.
I picked up 2, 35G Brute food grade buckets for the RO water and hope to use this for saltwater mixing as well.

[wmcinnes]

And while all this is going on I am in the process of building a well fortified stand for the tank. The thing is built like a tank.. I think it could hold my car let alone a 90G...
I plan to run a 30G sump/refugium with Carbon and GFO reactors so I have to make it with enough room to house all the equipment..






More pictures will be added when I add the trim and paint or stain it..

Oh and I also picked up some eggcrate for the tank bottom..



Process is going slowly but that is okay.. I plan to wait on the AI Vegas to be released for my lighting anyhow!

[wmcinnes]

I got the booster pump this morning and just my luck.. the fitting on the suction side of the pump which holds the RO tubing in place was broken right out of the box..:headwally:
got it all mounted and such but now i have to wait for a reply from the company and see if they can just send me a fitting or if I have to send the whole pump back.. what a PITA!! luckily I am not in too much of a rush at the moment as I still have to stain/paint my stand.






Also am getting a local glass shop to cut me 4 baffles for my 35 gallon DIY sump, so thatll be another project in the works

[wmcinnes]

i know i might be getting a bit ahead of myself but, i got my skimmer and return pump today! Ran the skimmer through freshwater and started to think the thing was broken because the bubbles looked nothing like they are supposed to but apparently they will be much finer and produce a foam once put into salt water. hopefully this is the case!


Eheim Compact 5000


Bubble Magus NAC-7

[wmcinnes]

Managed to find a local water filtration supply store and picked up the proper John Guest fitting for the RO booster pump since Aquasafe never returned my email... It turns out that the TDS from the water in my well is so high that at the outlet of the RO membrane (no DI) i was still getting 30-50 PPM.. dear lord this is gonna be so much more work because of this.. i filled a 32 gallon Brute with this water, found a 1/6HP industrial grade submersible pump and attached a few couplings. Now i am repumping this water back through the unit with the DI stages this time.. getting 0 PPM on the outlet now but it is going to take forever to get enough high quality water.. what a chore..

[wmcinnes]

Picked up a 45G hexagon for my Oscar so I can get him out of the 35G (my DIY sump). I cleaned up the 35 gallon tank with some vinegar and water and got it ready to go. I had baffles cut, but being the newbie I am I got them cut to the exact width of the tank and they were WAY too tight to put into the tank.
GET YOUR BAFFLES CUT 1/8" SMALLER THEN YOUR TANK DIMENSIONS!!!
Luckily my glass guy said he would cut me some new ones so that should be done within the week and the baffles will be installed!

[wmcinnes]

Got a bit done this weekend! Finished up the stand and got it all set up in the house. The stand is quite tall and with the 24" high tank the whole thing is just over 5ft tall! Also installed the baffles into my sump (they're not pretty but do the job) and things are finally starting to take shape!

Also picked up a 25G Long that I will use as a QT tank, it is currently filled and cycling so I can pick up a few fish to observe and quarantine while I am working on the display tank.

Next step should be getting the plumbing together so I can get some water in the tank! I am planning to plumb the overflows using the Herbie method as I have heard this is a silent and safe overflow.

I am still unsure how to attach the return plumbing to the return pump. Do I hard plumb it like I am going to do with the over flows or can i do a combination of flex tube and pvc? And what size should the return piping be? Same as the main overflow? If anyone can help me out thatd be great!














Hopefully I can trim off some of the extra silicone and make it look a little nicer. Another day.

[eli@fijireefrock.com]

You got a very nice and detailed build
I think your rock work is going to look grand in there.And I think you should go to sleep

[zhasan]

Wao! Thats a nice build! Looking forward to see how things turn out for you! good luck!